title: Lumbar foraminal stenosis causes leg pain at rest.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Lumbar intra-spinal canal stenosis is characterized by leg pain that intensifies during walking and intermittent claudication, while leg pain at rest is a characteristic neurological symptom of lumbar disc herniation. Until now, a correlation between leg pain at rest and symptomatic foraminal stenosis has not been reported. This is a prospective and comparative study of unilateral leg pain from L5 nerve root compression due to spinal canal stenosis to determine clinical characteristics of lumbar foraminal stenosis.
  
  
  METHODS
  Clinical and neurological findings were compared among 38 patients receiving L5-S1 transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion for L5-S1 foraminal stenosis (FS group) and 60 patients receiving L4-5 decompression or/and fusion for L4-5 intra-spinal canal stenosis (CS group).
  
  
  RESULTS
  The only significant difference between the FS and CS groups in demographic clinical data was leg pain at rest. The prevalence of leg pain was significantly higher in the FS group compared to the CS group (76 vs. 35%). The visual analogue scale for leg pain at rest was also significantly higher in the FS group than in the CS group (6.6 ± 3.1 vs. 1.3 ± 1.9).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Leg pain at rest is characteristic of L5-S1 foraminal stenosis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Yokohama City University, Fukuura 3-9, Kanazawa-ku, Yokohama City, Kanagawa, 236-0004, Japan, katsutaka@af.em-net.ne.jp.
authors.forename: Katsutaka
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yamada
authors.forename: Yoichi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Aota
authors.forename: Takayuki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Higashi
authors.forename: Ko
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ishida
authors.forename: Takanori
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Nimura
authors.forename: Tomoyuki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Konno
authors.forename: Tomoyuki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Saito
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D019299:Decompression, Surgical; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007866:Leg; D008159:Lumbar Vertebrae / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery; D008161:Lumbosacral Region / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010146:Pain / Q000209:etiology* / Q000601:surgery; D010147:Pain Measurement; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011843:Radiculopathy / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology*; D013123:Spinal Fusion; D013130:Spinal Stenosis / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery; D016896:Treatment Outcome